How much do you pay for long distance phone service?

[shazz]

Does anyone know of any cut-rate services that serve Hawaii? Long distance costs so much more here. In Cal, u can get 3 cents a minute w/ NO monthly minimum. But the cheap carriers don't serve Hawaii. Must be some monopolistic conspiracy!! With AT&T I pay a $10 minimum + $3 "taxes" for less than an hour of long distance per month!

[tutusue]

I gave up long distance service for both home and office at least 4 years ago and substituted prepaid calling cards from Costco. I've never regretted it.

[shazz]

So you can have local phone service without long distance? That's a good way to get around it. Do you just put the access code on speed dial? AT&T, MCI, and Qwest seem to be the only carriers here and their Hawaii rates are way higher than for the mainland, and they all have "minimums," which they don't have on the mainland. Somehow the competition is being artificially suppressed.

[Palolo Joe]

There's probably more info in the Hawaiian Tel thread, but I heard they just introduced a new package that includes unlimited long distance and local calling along with DSL for like $60 a month.

It's an option if you also need high speed Internet.

[pzarquon]

You can definitely have "local" landline home phone service without any long distance, excluding even neighbor island calls. That's how we're set up at home, since we can just use our cell phones for long distance. If anyone tries to dial 1, it just beeps angrily at you. :p

But there are definitely more options today than there used to be. You can give up your landline completely and live entirely via cell phone (many friends I know do this), or subscribe to Oceanic for cable, Internet, and digital phone (for that home phone feeling) and at least avoid Hawaiian Telcom.

[tutusue]

So you can have local phone service without long distance? That's a good way to get around it. Do you just put the access code on speed dial?[...]
Yep...Hawaiian Tel and no LD service. For the majority of my LD calls I use my cell. For those LD calls I know will be very long, I use a pre-paid LD card. I don't have the access code on speed dial because more often than not I originate the call away from my own phone (home or office).

[Konaguy]

I would think twice about ever considering Oceanic's digital phone service.
If there is power outage, you'll most certainly lose your phone service.
Yes you get unlimited long distance for 39.95 if you have Road Runner
and standard cable tv service. But at least with HawTel your phone
will work if the power goes out.

On top of that, HawTel is offering unlinited long distance interisland, to US
Mainland and US territories if you bundle with HSI, and your landline for 65.95
a month. Plus you have a choice of three additional services like call waiting,
caller ID etc. If you got for 68.95 package, you'll get 10 additional services.

HawTel Bundle (http://www.hawaiiantel.com/Residential_Bundles.htm)

[shazz]

Can you dial toll free numbers (800, 866, etc.) with a local-service-only land line? I think I recall that the MCI/Costco card doesn't do the toll freee numbers.

[tutusue]

Can you dial toll free numbers (800, 866, etc.) with a local-service-only land line? I think I recall that the MCI/Costco card doesn't do the toll freee numbers.
Yes, toll free numbers are no problem.

[shazz]

thanx guys!

[Konaguy]

It appears Oceanic has dropped the cost of their digital phone service to 34.95 (As long as you bundle it with Road Runner,
cable tv service ). It will only last for 12 months and then the regular 39.95 rate kicks in.